Twin Crowns Authors: Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber Publisher: After School Tales
If you like The Princess Switch starring Venessa Hudgens in the lead double role, you will definitely like Twin Crowns. Like I have been gloating over rom-com books over the past few months, this book, too, evokes that kind of delight in the mind of the readers. Deftly crafted characters of Wren, Rose, Shen and Tor take the plot forward seamlessly. Moreover, I’m always up for romance in which one character pushes the crotchety other to the verge of giving in with the help of heavy flirting. Here, there is twice the fun. On one hand, is Shen and on the other hand, there’s Wren.
Unlike The Princess Switch where the twin princess switches voluntarily, Twin Crowns has a political agenda attached as a tail. Rose and Wren are sisters who were separated at birth because of the ongoing battle between the witches and the normal people of Eana. While Rose is unaware of her sibling’s existence, Wren has a resolute endeavour to seize the throne and take her rightful position as the princess of Eana on her 18th birthday. But the story isn’t as simple as it seems. There’s an angle of the wrongful murder of the princesses’ parents, an evil Willem Rathborne who wants everyone to dance to his tunes, the witch party who want to reclaim their respectful place in the kingdom and then, there’s love.
Doyle and Webber have aced the narrative by balancing the viewpoints and revealing layers of the plot slowly, thereby causing a slow burn! The chemistry between Tor and Wren is satisfying as they inch towards growing into individuals who are just right for each other. Similarly, Shen’s wit and sense of humor are qualities one might look forward to. The story picks pace when the princesses are switched. While Wren comes across as sharp as a knife, Rose is the opposite. She’s naive and oblivious to what constituted her present. Both the girls have a bit of magic in them, literally as well as figuratively. And that magic adds a lot of flavour to the plot.
All in all, Twin Crowns is an utterly delicious romance with many speculative twists that can give the recent rom-com books a run for their money. Look out for Tor, the muscular yet grumpy love interest of one of the princesses!
Best wishes to the authors!
Buy this book here: Amazon